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I hope your New Year has started strong! As I plan for the work ahead in 2023, I took one last look back at our accomplishments in Fairfax County and the Franconia District the previous year.
There is much for us to celebrate, including;
✔️ Completing 400 constituent casework items
✔️The grand opening of the Workforce Innovation Skills Hub (W.I.S.H.)
✔️ The progress around reactivating the Springfield market and much more
Watch the full video below for a full summary of my office's work.
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I look forward to continuing my commitment to serving all Franconia District residents and supporting policies that positively impact our community.
Thank you to my staff, community partners, and the residents that made this all possible.
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Also, I am honored to be recognized as "Citizen of the Year" by the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce for my work on the Workforce Innovation Skills Hub. (W.I.S.H.)
Since its inception, the goal of the W.I.S.H. has been to build bridges between our residents, who are ready to earn a higher salary, and the building trades or tech companies looking to fill in-demand jobs.
Thank you to the Mount Vernon Springfield Chamber of Commerce for this recognition.
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Additionally, on December 6th, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors officially renamed the Lee District as the Franconia District. The change is effective immediately, and other county facilities with the Lee name will also be renamed. If you missed the three name-change town halls, the video above summarizes community members' support for renaming the district.
Franconia has been central to the district’s identity for decades, and the name is synonymous with the community. During our three renaming town halls, it was clear that the overwhelming majority of participants supported changing the name to Franconia.
With our district now named Franconia, the district website and my office email have been updated to the following:
💻 www.fairfaxcounty.gov/franconia/
📧 Franconia@fairfaxcounty.gov
My staff will continue monitoring the old Lee office inbox. The county will update the name on signs and other official sites throughout the coming months.
If you have questions about the renaming or any potential impacts on you or your business, please email my office, Franconia@fairfaxcounty.gov.
Thank you to the hundreds of constituents that contacted my office or participated in this year-long process. I look forward to beginning this new chapter in our community.
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Please contact my office if we can assist you. | |
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Email: Franconia@fairfaxcounty.gov
Phone 703-971-6262
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- Supervisor Lusk in the Community
- Welcome our newest staff member Kristy Ferrufino
- Two SSPA Community Meetings
- Fairfax County and Workhouse Arts Center Masterplan Community Meeting
- New Year, New You, New Career Opportunities at Mason
- Franconia Police District Traffic Town Hall Recording
- Fairfax County Hypothermia Prevention Program
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Community Post: Solar panels or trees, which to choose?
- ArtsFairfax Pandemic Recovery Grant Now Open
- Make your Pitch with Fairfax County’s New Vendor Pitch Portal
- Parking Reimagined Community Update
- COVID-19 Resources
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Supervisor Lusk in the Community | |
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It was a pleasure to attend the most recent Public Safety Communications Academy graduation. These hard-working graduates underwent six rigorous months of training to become the newest County public safety professionals!
Congratulations to all the recent graduates! Fairfax County is fortunate to have many young and talented individuals wanting to serve in this critically important public safety role.
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I had a great time at the Springfield Town Center for the LEGO Discovery Center - Washington DC's groundbreaking ceremony! The Lego Discovery Center will open in the Summer of next year. | |
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It was great to help install two Little Free Food Pantries at the Hybla Valley Community Center and Gerry Hyland South County Government Center.
I was happy to assist "Be The Good Project" with their Fairfax County zoning interpretation which approved the expansion of the Little Free Food Pantry network allowing residents access to food in their own communities.
Thank you to Ashton Bauersfeld Fisher for her generous food pantry donation honoring her husband Ryan’s memory.
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I had the pleasure of meeting with Cub Scout Pack 868 to discuss my role and responsibilities as a Supervisor. Cub Scout Pack 868 has been a constant presence in the Springfield community and has been chartered by the Springfield Estates Elementary School Parent-Teacher Association for over 50 years.
Thank you for stopping by and asking great questions!
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Congratulations to the newly graduated Public Health Youth Ambassadors! 14 Fairfax County high schoolers were honored on Saturday for completing the program, which trains them as community health workers. With INOVA making a historic expansion into the Franconia-Spingfield area, these ambassadors will have the opportunity to gain employment that offers an excellent starting salary. | |
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It was an honor to attend the investiture of Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith, the first Asian American woman to sit on the Fairfax County General District Court.
Judge Pidikiti-Smith has been an outstanding advocate, resource, and source of support for numerous Franconia District residents and is the former Deputy Director of Advocacy at Legal Services of Northern Virginia, where she began as Route 1 Attorney and worked diligently on behalf of communities in need for 14 years.
As part of the ceremony, I presented Judge Dipti Pidikiti-Smith with a Resolution on behalf of all Fairfax County residents, congratulating and acknowledging her service to others and extensive contributions to our community.
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I presented a resolution to United Community recognizing their instrumental work in providing their expertise and resources during the earliest days of the pandemic to serve our residents.
Thank you United Community for all you do for our community!
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It was a pleasure to start the New Year with a tour of the Ecumenical Community Helping Others (ECHO) food pantry!
Thank you to all the volunteers for your excellent work serving our community's most vulnerable residents.
For those interested in making donations, ECHO is in need of the following items:
✔ Food, cooking, and other care items sized appropriately for their average family size of four.
✔ Include an assortment of food to ensure a variety of items for their clients.
✔ Because of the incredible generosity of the community, ECHO is blessed to already have a more than ample supply of canned vegetables, stuffing mix, canned soup, and canned beans. However, they are short on many other items, such as personal care products.
✔ ECHO cannot give clients food whose expiration date is long past, open food, or repackaged food (no zip-loc bags).
For more information, please visit: www.echo-inc.org/needed-right-now
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Welcome tour newest staff member Kristy Ferrufino | |
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Please join me in welcoming my office's newest staff member Kristy Ferrufino! Kristy will assist my office with scheduling, office administration, and our internship program. She joins us with years of community engagement experience and is excited to serve the Franconia District.
Welcome to the team, Kristy!
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Fairfax County is working on long-range planning proposals with the potential to change land use policy for properties in our area. The proposals, called “nominations”, are being reviewed through the Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process, and consists of the proposed changea to the Comprehensive Plan, the guiding document for land use and development decisions in the County.
We invite you to join us for the community meeting to learn more about the nominations and provide feedback.
Monday, January 23 Franconia Elementary School Cafeteria 6301 Beulah Street, Alexandria, VA 22310
More information: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-development/plan-amendments/sspa/countywide/2022-2023/track-nomination
| Questions? Email: DPDSSPA@FairfaxCounty.gov | |
Fairfax County and Workhouse Arts Center Masterplan Community Meeting | |
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Fairfax County and the Workhouse Arts Foundation are in the process of developing a new master plan for the Workhouse Arts Campus. They have heard about your needs over the summer, and they now have some options that they would like your feedback on!
You can join them at the McGuireWoods Gallery at the Workforce Arts Center to see the development options and share your input!
For more information, please email Cihan Koca via email at Cihan.Koca@fairfaxcounty.gov or call 703-324-5800
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New Year, New You, New Career Opportunities at Mason | |
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Kick off the new year with a new career opportunity at George Mason University. Apply to join Mason’s vibrant academic and professional community. Mason offers a robust benefits package, a commitment to flexible work/life options, and personal and professional development opportunities. Many possibilities for building a great career await you at Mason.
Visit https://jobs.gmu.edu/ to explore career opportunities.
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Franconia Police District Traffic Town Hall | |
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Thank you to everyone who attended the Franconia Police District Traffic Town Hall. Above is the full recorded video of our town hall.
If you have any follow-up questions or comments, please contact my office.
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Fairfax County Hypothermia Prevention Program | |
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Since 2005, the Fairfax County Hypothermia Prevention Program has prevented death and serious injuries among people experiencing homelessness by ensuring that no one must sleep outside during the winter months. This program - available to any adult in need of immediate shelter - provides warm shelter, food, and other supportive services to help connect guests to a variety of basic needs such as clothing, employment, housing, and more. It remains a highly effective partnership between government, nonprofits, and the faith community. The program began on December 1st, 2022, and ends the morning of April 1, 2023.
Information about year-round shelters, including those for families with children, is available at:
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless/emergency-shelters
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Community Post: Solar panels or trees, which to choose? | |
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Homeowners can now receive a 30% federal tax credit for installing rooftop solar panels. This is an important opportunity for those who have sunny roofs. But is it worth cutting down trees next to your house to do that?
Residents who are interested in installing solar panels often face a dilemma. Which is better for the environment, solar panels or shade trees? After all, climate change due to burning fossil fuels is threatening the very existence of trees, not to mention human beings, and the timeline for preventing catastrophic temperature rises is short. Before we get out the chainsaw, though, there are several other things to consider.
Click on the link below to read more about this discussion: https://www.plantnovatrees.org/post/solar-panels-vs-trees-how-to-choose
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ArtsFairfax Pandemic Recovery Grant Now Open | |
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Fairfax County recognizes the value of the arts in our community and the ongoing impact of the pandemic on the arts ecosystem, which is why they’ve allocated $250,000 in funds for ArtsFairfax to regrant—$170,000 of which is dedicated to the Pandemic Recover Grant.
What is the ArtsFairfax Pandemic Recovery Grant?
The new county regranting funds come with a directive to serve organizations that did not receive county pandemic-related support previously as well as those with BIPOC leadership/mission/audiences and communities that are economically disadvantaged.
Grants staff will be available for office hours 12pm-1pm ET each Friday from November 11 through January 20 to answer questions on the Pandemic Recovery Grant application and the Submittable portal. Spanish translation is available.
Learn more here: https://artsfairfax.org/pandemicrecovery/
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Make your Pitch with Fairfax County’s New Vendor Pitch Portal | |
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Interested in doing business with Fairfax County? Connect your business directly with department staff buyers through the new Vendor Pitch Portal (VPP), an easy way to present your business idea, product or service offering to county agencies and departments and Fairfax County Public Schools all at the same time!
VPP is a platform for prospective vendors to submit product/service information for distribution to all County and FCPS central purchasing entities and decision makers. It’s a way to get your product or service noticed by someone who might buy it! This is just another way that Fairfax County is increasing opportunities for small and diverse business owners. The submission process for prospective vendors includes attending a free workshop and completing a form. Pitches are then routed to purchasing contacts within each department for review. Vendor pitches are available for one year.
Check out details at FairfaxCounty.gov search “Pitch Portal”
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Parking Reimagined Community Update | |
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The County’s Parking Reimagined project is now in its final phase of community engagement, and they want to hear from you!
Recommended changes to the County’s off-street parking and loading requirements have been released for public comment.
The recommendations include:
- Modernized parking rates to incorporate right-sizing for land uses
- A tiered rate framework that is tailored to planned land use density and intensity
- New minimum bicycle parking requirements
- Updates to off-street loading requirements
We encourage you to learn more and share your thoughts by January 16: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news/public-feedback-sought-recommendations-new-countywide-parking-and-loading-requirements.
Did you know the County is updating its off-street parking and loading requirements?
Check out this video to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PltNrQrmvNM.
If you’d like to learn more about recommended changes to the County’s parking requirements, join County staff on January 5 or 12 at 7 p.m. for a virtual Open House.
We also encourage you to review the recommendations and submit your feedback on the Parking Reimagined website. Your involvement will help them create more modern, flexible, simplified, and predictable parking and loading requirements in Fairfax County.
For more information, click here: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-development/zoning-ordinance/parking-reimagined
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Fairfax County COVID-19 Resources | |
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Rodney L. Lusk
Franconia District Supervisor
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